Perma-Chink Systems, Inc
Log & Timber Home Care Experts
By Jared Turner
Folks have been trapped inside their homes for lengthy periods of time this winter. Whether it was to escape the cold or shelter from Covid, you are ready for a change. So, as you emerge from your long winter hibernation, take time to stretch, rub the sleepy out of your eyes and put the coffee on. Once you have all of that out of the way, it is time to open your door to Spring and consider the benefits of Forest Living.
How to Prepare New Construction Log Surfaces for Finishing
New logs may look clean and fresh to you, but it doesn’t mean that they are ready to stain. There is some preparation involved in getting new logs ready for finishing.
As our country was founded, established and expanded, log homes were prevalent across the colonies. President Abraham Lincoln was famously raised in a log home, and that home is still preserved today. Some of our greatest presidents came from humble beginnings and modest homes. What some people might not know is a log home constructed in 1808 was built on George Washington's Farm. 
One of the key bits of information for keeping hardwood floors shiny is knowing what type of finish has been applied to the wood. Was your hardwood sealed with a polyurethane or polyacrylic urethane finish, or was it finished with a paste wax? If you don't know, here's a test to help you make the best cleaning choices:
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In a spot with normal foot traffic, place a drop of water on the floor. If the water is quickly absorbed or causes spotting on the finish, this indicates the hardwood has not been sealed and should never be cleaned with water. But if the bead of water just sits on the surface without being absorbed, it means the hardwood floor has been sealed.
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To test for a paste wax finish, grab some fine steel wool and rub it lightly over the floor in a corner. If the floor has been waxed, there will be a gray, waxy film left on the steel wool.
COLOR CHOICES FOR INTERIOR OF YOUR LOG OR TIMBER HOME
When it comes to log and timber homes, grays and browns are the biggest color trends lately. Gray has been the hot shade for the past several years.
True to its "neutral" title, gray really goes with almost any color. The key to a great match lies in coordinating the tones. Gray doesn't have to appear in your palette as color of the wall—it can also be found in a fireplace exterior, flooring, or on countertops. When you add gray to any room, be sure to consider any other gray that might already be in there.
How Energy Efficient Is Your Home?
Each year millions of homeowners across this country make decisions regarding preparation of their homes for the upcoming winter season. How each owner prepares their home will be influenced by which factors they consider important. For example, energy cost, energy efficiency, infrastructure, weather forecasts and location are all important factors to consider. The cost of energy from all sources has gone up considerably this past year as we are all familiar with our monthly utitility bills. As a result, the price of energy delivered to residential customers this coming winter 2022-2023 is projected to be up similarly like last year. These unusually large price increases can put real financial strain on most homeowners. Our energy efficiency evaluation is structural in nature, not targeting consumption devices like appliances, electronics, or lightbulbs.
Start Saving on Your Heating Bills Now!
Energy Seal is a textured acrylic polymer sealant that provides a long-lasting and resilient seal for any style of log home. Since logs constantly twist, turn, swell, expand and shrink, gaps may appear between logs or between the logs and window and door frames or other areas of the home. These gaps retain moisture and allow the seepage of air and water into the home. Energy Seal eliminates these gaps by forming an air and water tight barrier over them.
FINISHES & STAINS
Calling our pigmented finishes “stains” can be a bit confusing, but we understand how finishes can be called a stain. The term “stain” implies that the wood fibers are stained with the colorants contained in the products. However, in the case of film-forming water-based finishes, like our Lifeline™ family of finishes, the wood fibers are not impregnated with the colorants. Our Lifeline finishes behave more like latex paints than penetrating oil-based stains. Yet we can refer to our finishes as stains or varnish since that is what the market is used to. Our newest finish, Log & Timber Defense, is a semi-transparent finish that penetrates like oils, but without the negative effects of oil-based stains.
When I was growing up, I was fascinated with forts. I would often get together with friends from the neighborhood, and we would combine our resources and construct some rather elaborate fortresses. To test our handiwork we would end our session with a great battle to decide whose fort was superior. Fast forward nearly forty years and I am still helping design forts! At Perma-Chink Systems the forts we are building are designed to protect your home against the forces of nature such as sunlight, wind, rain, dust, insects and microorganisms. Let us take a closer look at what our fort looks like.
Why do my choices regarding surface prep, stain, and color matter?
When it comes to choosing a finish system for your log home exterior, there are many factors to consider. Depending on what choices you make, it will have a significant impact on the longevity of the finish system. For example, some of these choices include surface preparation, type of stain, and color choice. Let us take a closer look at each one of these factors and discover how they each contribute to a systems performance.
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